Old Mrs. Lin tightly embraced her young lady, feeling a mix of emotions. Ye Liyan was indeed outstanding, she couldnāt deny it. She had actually approved of him at first, but the gossip in the family compound was unbearable. Her daughter was a young maiden and was expected to marry into a family to become a stepmother, which she couldnāt quite accept.
Moreover, Ye Liyan had been absent for over half a month, working on solving problems, to the point that he didnāt even come home when his youngest son fell ill, leaving it to relatives to take care of him. This made her even more displeased.
If her daughter were to marry him, she would end up managing the household, and those two children were each sharper than the last. Her daughter would just be a free nanny.
To break her daughterās infatuation, she took a double-handed approach, advising her daughter while also confronting Ye Liyan.
Unexpectedly, after she approached him, he applied for a transfer not long after.
Because of his transfer, her daughter became disheartened, leading to that incident which ruined her life. She harbored resentment towards Ye Liyan.
But just when her daughter was beginning to settle down, they returned to Beijing, once again disturbing her daughterās peace of mind.
Thinking that since her daughter could no longer bear children, marrying Ye Liyan was appropriate, given he already had two sons. It didnāt matter if Kaixin could not give birth. Unexpectedly, Ye Liyan rejected her.
Watching her daughter cry in tears, her heart ached deeply. She wished to scold Ye Liyan but recalled it was she herself who initially asked him to give up.
She tightened her hold around her daughter, heartache palpable: "Youāre right, he isnāt worth you fixating on. From now on, Iāll find someone better for you."
Ye Liyan didnāt care about the thoughts of the mother and daughter; he went straight back to the compound to pack. He had already purchased a train ticket for the evening, and he was taking the children away.
Since he was on a temporary assignment, the house here hadnāt been reclaimed. But considering the current strained relations with the neighboring Lin Family, he decided to return the house upon leaving this time and wait for a new allocation upon return to avoid awkwardness.
*
Meanwhile, Xinyan and Mr. Gu had arrived in Sichuan.
As soon as they disembarked from the plane, they were met by someone.
Seeing the man, the father-son duo of the Gu Family was quite excited: "Wei Zi, is that you?"
The middle-aged man they called Wei Zi had reddened eyes: "Uncle Gu, itās been nearly twenty years."
Mr. Gu grasped his hand: "How is your father?"
The man nodded: "Every once in a while, heāll take out the photo album and look at old pictures, always wondering if heāll ever see you again, Uncle Gu.
Since we got back in touch, heās been revitalized. Not only has he started taking care of himself, but heās also practicing his cooking every day, saying you must miss his dishes."
Mr. Gu felt a surge of emotion, unexpectedly touched that Wei still remembered: "Well, I must taste his cooking carefully to see if heās improved over the years."
Mr. Gu then pulled Xinyan aside: "Yanyan, this is Wei Fengyuan, the son of Mr. Wei I told you about. Call him Uncle Wei."
Xinyan smiled at him: "Hello, Uncle Wei."
Wei Fengyuan looked at Xinyan: "Uncle Gu, is this...?"
Mr. Gu glanced at his granddaughter: "This is Wanqingās daughter, my granddaughter Han Xinyan."
Wei Fengyuan was surprised: "I never expected it. Meeting again, Wanqingās daughter is already this grown."
They got into the car waiting outside, chatting all the way, arriving at the Wei Family home in no time.
The Gu and Wei families had been old family friends and only got back in touch recently. After the Gu family encountered difficulties, for safety, the Wei family relocated from Beijing to Sichuan.
They had reconnected only recently.
As they approached the Wei family gate, from afar, they could see an elderly man standing with a cane at the entrance, waiting with others.
Even before the car had fully stopped, Mr. Gu inside the car and Mr. Wei outside were both already excited. Xinyan quickly took out pre-prepared pills and slipped one into her grandfatherās mouth: "Grandpa, stay calm."
But Mr. Gu was beyond listening, opening the door and getting out. The two elderly men, meeting again after years, locked eyes, and then embraced each other tightly.
Mr. Wei, choking with emotion, said: "I never thought Iād see you again in my lifetime. Now I can die without regret."
Mr. Gu, equally emotional, patted Mr. Weiās back: "Have you been well all these years?"
Mr. Weiās eyes reddened: "Years ago, upon receiving your message, I arranged for my family to leave Beijing. Thankfully, we left in time, and life has been relatively stable since then."
His daughter-in-law, Chen Shifang, spoke up: "Dad, we should go inside to talk. Uncle Gu must be exhausted after the long journey."
Mr. Wei suddenly realized: "Yes, yes, letās go inside, go inside."
Even so, the two elderly men didnāt let go of each otherās hands.